how do you afford all of those preamps when multitrack recording?

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minofifa

minofifa

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A few nights ago i had a brillinat idea to upgrade to a sound card that had multiple inputs and outputs so i could record a number of tracks into my audio software insted of mixing them and then sending one or two tracks to the audio software. For example i was pumped about getting a delta 66 and setting it up so that wehn i recorded drums, each drum would be in a different track so i could edit each.
Unfortunately i realised that each "in" on the delat was a line leve which means taht i would have to get a preamp for each imput that i wanted to use with a mic. Decent preamps are like 200 bucks canadian x 6 imputs = 1200 dollars! no way can i afford that. Talk about a dissapointment.

Are there any sound cards out there that have multiple preamps? I am looking for something better for my buck.
 
Here's my setup -- assuming you already have a computer and software, it'll cost you MAYBE $500USD [not sure about Canadian]

Yamaha MG12/4 Mixer - $150 on eBay
Delta 44 Soundcard - $150 on eBay
CAD Drum Mic Pack [Superlux's are cheaper, IIRC] - $130
Stands, cables etc... - $50-$70

Anyway, it may not sound the best, but it'll surely get you started! And for way less than $1200!!

- Justin
 
Is there anyway you could bring back the Delta 66 and upgrade it to the Omni Studio ? It's a Delta 66 with a control center which has 2 preamps. Then you could buy an Maudio Audio Buddy to use as a preamp for the 2 remaining inputs..
 
Re:

minofifa said:
how do you afford all of those preamps when multitrack recording?
Click to expand...
Drugs & prostituion is the easiest way...........

:p
 
Importing drugs is where the big money is here in florida.

I have a Aardvark Q10 and it suits me well when I'm recording drums. Just wish it had more then four inserts :rolleyes:

and just think sometimes for live productions they'll have maybe 56 channels of focusrite red series. Wohoo
 
My particular setup isn't particularly great but...let's see...

Behringer ADA8000 - 8 pres - 200
Presonus MP20 - 2 pres - 350
Grace 101 - 1 pre - 500 (got it used)
M-Audio DMP3 - 2 pres - 150
Emu/TFPro - 2 pres - built-in!

So 1200 USD (plus the 400 dollar sound card) got my 15 preamps.

The 8 preamps in the Aardvark Q10 sound very good, BTW. You won't ever say "Darn, have to use the Aardvark..."

An ADAT card like the VSL2020 and...say...two behringer ADA8000s will get you 16 pres into a nice card for 600 bucks. But don't give in! The Behringer ADA8000 really is not a bad piece (certainly PHENOMENAL bang for the buck), but it does have annoyances which will wear on you, like the pres clipping just before it digitally clips, and the clip light being absolutely USELESS. As pres go, they're certainly usable...and I plan on continuing to use it in the future to do A/D for the newer and better pres I'll be getting. :D
 
The Bear made a funny...LMAO

Yep the ADA8000 is your cheapest route. But the Aardvark 4 in box is another alternative.
 
The Aardvark Direct Pro 2496 might be just the ticket for ya'. It has four (4) inputs with each input having phantom power and its own preamp. Use the forum's search feature and see what kind of feedback people have given it. Personally, I love mine!! Oh yeah, the "street price" for a new unit is about ~$475.00 to $499.00 US.

Good luck!

-mr moon
 
I'm with drummer4life. Check out the Yamaha MG range. The MG12/4 is a great mixer, comes with 6 preamps for $199
 
Yeah, next vote for Yamaha MG - usually a couple of the stereo channels also have mic pres in so you get more pres for your more than on the Behringers (and, IMO the pres are far superior).

Here's some prices I looked up a while ago for another thread:

Behringer UB1622FX £146
4 IMP pres. Really noisy FX.

Yamaha MG12/4 £126
6 pres, no FX. (isn't that a band??)

Yamaha MG16/4 £175
10 pres! No FX.

The Yamahas also have some inserts for extra connections.
 
I may be confused, but . . .

I'm a relative newbie, but I thought the whole point of having all those preamps was to allow you to record tracks to HD individually. The Behringer goes to ADAT, which means if you have an ADAT in on your card you can put things individually to HD, then mess with the individual tracks. The yamaha (or almost any mixer) will just send out one mixed signal, unless you already have a card with eight-10 individual ins, which would allow you to used the mixer's direct outs.

Again, I may be talking out of my ass, but I think that if you've got an entry-level card with an ADAT in, and want to get preamps plus a bunch of extra individually mixed inputs, the behringer would be my choice.
 
kewl, thanks for all the help guys

hey Justin and other people who suggested the Yamaha mixer. How do you record multiple tracks? I though that the idea of a mixer was to accept a bunch of signals and then mix them down to one signal which ran from the mixer's line out to the sound card's line in. That would result in only one mixed track being recorded insted of the multiple unmixed tracks i am looking for. Are there multiple line outs on the mixer for each channel or something?
 
sorry for the double up sleepnotwork, must have been posting at the same time.
 
well, you have four outs straight off with the two stereo groups. Pan channels hard right or left and you send four mono signals out. I don't know anything at all about ADAT/lightpipes but I'm sure the pres in these mixers are superior to the Behringer unit so I'd still go that way. There's insert points as well if you want 'em ...
 
a small mixer would suit you fine.

i mean, there is even one of those new behringer mixers that have those sends for each preamp on it as well (channel inserts).

It's 4 pres, mind you they are behringer pres - but i think they are supposed to be a bit better on the UB series than on that old eurorack MX series.

but also, maybe you could invest in that and also somethin a little nicer.

for example i have:
delta 44
mx802a (4 pres, sent to delta 44 in only 2 channels (l/r)
dmp2 (2 pres - sent into delta seperately)

So, for drums I record 4 mics on the set (2 overheads and 2 tom mics) through the mx802a, and then pan them and do what i need on the MIXER BEFORE RECORDING. Then they go to my computer into ins1/2.
then KICK and SNARE are goin through my dmp2 (nicer pre) into ins 3/4 of the computer.

you know?
 
that's how i've done it, except using four outputs from my UB1204. the UB mixer pres are quiet but tonally not so great. I'd get a DMP2 but they're way expensive over here so I'm more tempted to get an MG 16/4 for the same price and have a 'proper' mixer in with it!
 
well, DMP2's are quite cheaper than the DMP3s. check ebay, sometimes there will be one for sale on there, of course not often.

the main difference is looks, and that it is REALLY HOT - not physically, but audio speaking. haha. YOU GOTTA use some mic pads on most sorces - if you got a hot mic too especially.

your ub1204 has an individual OUT for each pre?? I thought those things only had main outs and aux outs...?
 
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